Since balancing weight and accuracy seem to be your issues, figure out how much your 'fantasy' would weigh, and if it's different than your ideal weight, then start figuring out where or how you're willing to make compromises.

I'm 66, and while I am in pretty good shape, I am probably past the 15 mi walk in day hunts and sheep hunting. Actually, that makes carrying a slightly heavier gun something I should be able to handle.

The sendero contour is very similar to the #5 1/2. That's where I seem to be heading. What stock do you have on your 300 RUM?

I have a harris bipod on all my western hunting guns and carry a set of folding shooting sticks.

Oh well, you dont have to go 15 miles to get game. I like walking and seeing lot's of coumtry when I hike.

I believe the Sendero is actually very close to a #7 contour according to Lija's chart.

I have the factory HS Precison Stock on my Sendero and it's the original one. The newer SFII stocks have a much wider palm swell and wider beavertail forearm and I dont really care for them. I like the stock I have now. It's solid and it's what I like for a carry rifle.

You could always go with something a little lighter. A #5 contour would be about a lb lighter than a #7 and if you went with a 7mm WSM or 300 WSM, with a short action, you could save another 1/2 lb and have close to a 1000 yd elk rifle depending on your load, eleveation etc. I just recently developed a load with RL17, 180 E-Tips that got an MV of 3193 out of a 24" factory barrel 300 WSM. With a 26 inch barrel you might be able to get 3230 or 3240 out of it which would make that round a 1000 yd elk rifle @ 5000' elevation. A good smith could put together a .5 MOA rifle or better and as long as you knew where that frist shot was going, you're good to go. If you can hit a 16" disk consistantly you can put one into the vitals of a deer, and if you can hit a 24" disk consistantly, you can put one into the vitals of an elk. Now a lighter rifle might not be a great range gun, but there are always tradeoffs.

I once carried a 13lb rifle in mountain goat hunting about 6 miles. Shot a billy goat. Had to come down the mountain and head up a second time, using another route to recover the goat. Time I got the goat off the mountain and halfway packed out to civilization, the love affair with that rifle had ended, and I just about left 13 lb of rifle along the trailside. I had already decided it would never be used again on a backpack hunt into the mountains. I was 37 yrs old on that hunt.

In the 17 years since then, I've learned that about the most rifle weight I care to backpack in and about with is 10-10 1/2 lbs. Much more than that and the rifle can be dreaded no matter how nice it looks, or how well it shoots.

When I read about the 14-15 lb rifles commonly being built for LR Hunting on this site, I have to conclude that the access to the hunting locations out west involves much less backpacking distance that I incur in Alaska. Because the only other conclusion would be that I'm a weenie...

winelines,
I understand your desire for a lighter rifle. Last year I carried a 13 1/2# rifle for 5 days on an elk hunt.
After that, I dicided to put together a lighter rig.
I went with a #4 contour Hart 30cal barrel 24" long w/ HS Precision stock
With a 2.5x10-32mm NXS scope, this rig should weigh no more than 10# and give me shooting distance to 7-800 yards if needed.
I will still carry my heavier rig at times, but need to come up with a better backpack system than what I am using now.

Interesting. I thought contours/weight were pretty standard between manufacturers, but there is a big difference between Shilen and Lilja. Just another variable that I didn't know I had.

Barrelsmiths can create just about anything you want. If there's a factory contour you like - they can do it. They have their own 'standard' contours and of course they can create just about any custom contour you might want. The possibilities are endless and can drive you batty.

The more I read, the more I come back to my last post on this thread....develop your fantasy rifle, then figure out where you're willing to compromise.

.280, I think I did that to start. That's what got me to the 15lb gun. I was then faced with the best way to get the weight down with the least impact on accuracy. I wasn't sure what the tradeoffs were. Thanks to your, and others responses, I think I am homing in on an solution. Right now I am at Wby action, Lilja 27" #6 barrel, fluted (Shilen doesn't flute), Manners MCS-T stock, Zeiss conquest 6.5-20 scope, Near bases and Warne rings. That should get me in the 10-11 lb range. To get this, I had to go down a little in contour, get it fluted and drop the idea of an adjustable stock. There are probably some things I haven't thought about, but I'm still researching.

Thanks to all who gave of their time to help me out. I really appreciate the advice.